There is not much disagreement between amillennialists and postmillennialists concerning the chronological order of end-times events. In both views, the millennium is a metaphor for Christ’s kingdom on earth. First, the millennium will be completed. Then simultaneously, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection, and the final judgment will occur.

This was the unified, general view of the church for many centuries. This view was held by church fathers, such as Athanasius and Augustine and also by the reformers of the 1500s, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox.

The premillennial view has also been around since the early centuries A.D. However, prior to modern times, it was the minority view. Premillennialism was called either chiliasm or millenarianism. Both phrases mean literally, “thousand” (from the Greek and Latin, kilo and mil).

It is important to remember that the pre-, a- and post- prefixes are fairly modern adaptations to describe millennial thinking. Postmillennialism is a phrase that came into being after centuries of Puritan and Calvinist influence in creating a Christian social theory from a biblical perspective. Prior to the 1600s, there was no distinction between postmillennialism and amillennialism. Postmillennialism was first called “progressive millennialism,” to distinguish it from both amillennial and chiliastic thinking.

There is no difference between the sequence of end-times events in the postmillennial and amillennial outlooks. The two views are akin. Even historical premillennialism can be seen as a distant cousin to postmillennialism. Postmillennialism, amillennialism and historical premillennialism form a continuum. However, dispensational premillennialism stands at the opposite end of the spectrum.

If we were to graph the views to show their similarity, they might fall along a line as follows:

Disp. premil. ————> Hist. premil. ————> Amil. —> Postmil.

Some may look at this line graph and ask: What then is the difference, if any, between amillennialism and postmillennialism?

The answer: Historical optimism.

Most amillennialists tend to spiritualize (or idealize) the events in Matthew 24 and Revelation or put them “sometime in history.” That is another difference between amillennialism and postmillennialism. Virtually no postmillennialist is a futurist. Among postmillennialists, there are mainly historicists and preterists. Amillennialists tend to be historicists or idealists. The amillennial futurist view exists, but it is more rare. However, this underscores my main point of rebuttal. Amillennialism tends to be more pessimistic about the end-times. According to the amillennialist, the Gospel is preached to the nations and many people are converted. However, there is no transformation of whole political and social structures.

Premillennialism teaches that there will be a blissful state of Christian mankind in the millennium after the Second Coming.

Amillennialism places the millennium prior to the Second Coming, but there is no Golden Age of Christianity prior to Christ’s return. “There is really no millennium,” says the amillennialist. Amillennialism means literally, “no millennial reign.” There is no Golden Age in the amillennial view.

Postmillennialism stresses that there will be a Golden Age of Christianity in time and history prior to Christ’s return. Postmillennialism is sometimes called optimistic amillennialism for this reason. In reality, an amillennialist who is optimistic about the end-times is a postmillennialist.

Comments

Your comments are welcome!

One can have an optimistic form of amillennialism without being postmillennial. I believe that the kingdom will be large and God will save people from all tribes and peoples, but I do not forsee a worldwide rule by Christians, nor necessarily a majority of people in the world as being Christians, although I believe Christianity will spread all over the world, and indeed has, for the most part.

I believe that all of the Book of Revelation is in the past except for Revelation Chapters 20 and 21. Rev. 20 represents the time between Christ’s death and His Second Advent. The Kingdom of God on earth will grow during this time. The world is better than it was two thousand years ago when the Roman Empire fell in AD476. We do not have Germanic Tribes moving around Europe as Pagans. Communism is practically a dead issue. Although the world is not perfect, the Gospel of Christ is spreading throughout the world.

I am an optimistic amillennialist and believe that the millennium of Christ began at His death on the cross and will end at His Second Advent. The world has been getting better since the Gospel of our Lord is being taught throughout the earth. Society has improved, and education has removed us from a primitive world. There is still much work to be done. I am also a Partial Preterist and believe that Rev. 20 is past, present, and reaches to the Second Coming. The new heaven and earth occur when Jesus returns. I know whom I have believed that he is able to teach that which I have committed unto Him against that day. Heaven is my home and my parents already dwell there.

I believe that the millennium is the church age, the time of our Lord’s First Coming and His Second Coming. The world is not perfect; however, whenever I study history, it is definitely better than it was two thousand years ago. Can you imagine how Europe was after the fall of Rome? Education has certainly improved. I would rather live now than five thousand years ago. I hope you will approve this.

I must agree that optimistic amillennialism is a type of postmillennialism. It is different from old postmillennialism in that the millennium is the church age. Old postmillennialism said that the millennium was the last thousand years of this world. Charles Finney would support this view. Benjamin Warfield would support the modern view of the millennium.

Go Stand Speak (DVD)

With “preaching to the lost” being such a basic foundation of Christianity, why do many in the church seem to be apathetic on this issue of preaching in highways and byways of towns and cities?

Is it biblical to stand in the public places of the world and proclaim the gospel, regardless if people want to hear it or not?

Does the Bible really call church pastors, leaders and evangelists to proclaim the gospel in the public square as part of obedience to the Great Commission, or is public preaching something that is outdated and not applicable for our day and age?

Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misconceptions related to this volatile issue:

1. Are we under Law or under Grace?
2. Does the Old Testament Law apply today?
3. Can we legislate morality?
4. What are the biblical foundations of government?
5. Was America founded as a Christian nation?
6. What about the separation of Church and State?
7. Is neutrality a myth?
8. What about non-Christians and the Law of God?
9. Would there be “freedom” in a Christian republic?
10. What would a “Christian America” look like?

Martin Luther: Digitally Remastered 1953 Classic (DVD)

“Here I stand … I can do no other!”

With these immortal words, an unknown German monk sparked a spiritual revolution that changed the world.

The dramatic classic film of Martin Luther’s life was released in theaters worldwide in the 1950s and was nominated for two Oscars. A magnificent depiction of Luther and the forces at work in the surrounding society that resulted in his historic reform efforts, this film traces Luther’s life from a guilt-burdened monk to his eventual break with the Roman Catholic Church.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer - A Christian Manifesto (DVD)

That Swiss Hermit Strikes Again!

Dr. Schaeffer, who was one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the twentieth century, shows that secular humanism has displaced the Judeo-Christian consensus that once defined our nation’s moral boundaries. Law, education, and medicine have all been reshaped for the worse as a consequence. America’s dominant worldview changed, Schaeffer charges, when Christians weren’t looking.

Schaeffer lists two reasons for evangelical indifference: a false concept of spirituality and fear. He calls on believers to stand against the tyranny and moral chaos that come when humanism reigns-and warns that believers may, at some point, be forced to make the hard choice between obeying God or Caesar. A Christian Manifesto is a thought-provoking and bracing Christian analysis of American culture and the obligation Christians have to engage the culture with the claims of Christ.

The Four Keys to the Millennium (Book)

All Christians believe that their great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will one day return. Although we cannot know the exact time of His return, what exactly did Jesus mean when he spoke of the signs of His coming (Mat. 24)? How are we to interpret the prophecies in Isaiah regarding the time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:19)? Should we expect a time of great tribulation and apostasy or revival and reformation before the Lord returns? Is the devil bound now, and are the saints reigning with Christ? Did you know that there are four hermeneutical approaches to the book of Daniel and Revelation?

These and many more questions are dealt with by four authors as they present the four views on the millennium. Each view is then critiqued by the other three authors.

The Abortion Matrix:
Defeating Child Sacrifice and the Culture of Death is a 195-minute presentation that traces the biblical roots of child sacrifice and then delves into the social, political and cultural fall-out that this sin against God has produced. You can order this series on DVD, read the complete script and view clips on-line...continued ...